I haven’t seen fish pedicures in the news for a while in the U.S., but apparently they are gaining popularity in France. A French agency for occupational health and safety is calling for “strictly regulating” the

We’ve been talking quite a bit about beauty professional licensing and the threat of deregulation lately. Many of you know my opinion on the subject already, but for the record, I want to say again that

An overwhelming majority (94%) of general election voters from across the U.S. overwhelmingly support the required licensing of beauty professionals and feel these licenses protect the public and improve both the quality and safety in the

While working on a nail salon ventilation story for the February issue of NAILS Magazine, I was happy to discover some U.S. cities and counties reward salons for improving their work environments. In King County (home

Yay! Indiana Bill to Eliminate Licensing Withdrawn Thanks so much for to all NAILS’ Magazine From the Editor readers who told Indiana that we need licensing and to everyone else who helped spread the word and who

I am alarmed by a bill in Indiana’s state legislature that would eliminate government licensing and regulation of nail techs. House Bill 1006, authored by David Wolkins, proposes that licensing be completely eliminated for everyone in

Salon owners and product retailers should begin to get a break from debit card transaction fees starting July 21, 2011, according to a statement from the Federal Reserve. The legislation, which was passed last July in

Wednesday was PBA Lobby Day, the main event I flew to D.C. to attend. We split into groups as determined by geography (With NAILS Magazine being based in Southern California, I was in the California-Nevada group),

It’s been over a decade since I lasted visited our nation’s capital on a family vacation. That trip was purely touristy. I remember going to the Smithsonian museums and waiting in line at the U.S. Mint.

Update 4/15/11: Due to contradicting information available online, we went right to the source, Rep. Dorothy Hukill, regarding if salons and manicurists are included in HB 5005 or not. We heard back today and are thrilled

The New York Times recently reported on the greening of San Francisco’s nail salons. In October, the City of San Francisco passed the country’s first Healthy Nail Salon Recognition ordinance. In what its backers call “a

Nothing speaks to the power of social media more than this: a state board is now using Facebook and Twitter to communicate with licensees. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) joined two online social

Many of us, myself included, were in an uproar over the recent case of a Georgia woman being charged more for a pedicure because, according to the salon, the client was overweight and so could potentially

Some states, like North Carolina, require salons to post their inspection scores where consumers can see them. While I’m not necessarily a proponent of more rules and regulations for the nail industry, I do believe that

Earlier this year, Iowa mandated the autoclaving of certain implements in the salon. As of March, cuticle nippers (along with tweezers and comedone extractors) must be sterilized by steam, dry heat, or other sterilization equipment. The

Texas barbers and cosmetologists: here’s your chance to tell The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) how to improve its services. An e-mail from the board says, “TDLR invites you to help plan our future

OK, now this is just plain scary. A man is impersonating a state board inspector to try to get money from Houston-area salons. Read the notice from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) and

As if the California licensing scam wasn’t bad enough, there are now reports of a similar scam taking place in Texas. Here’s the notice I received from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR): TDLR is warning all

Let the California State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology alleviate some of your apprehension about the salon inspection process by watching the board’s interactive webinar “What to Expect During an Inspection: What You Need to Know”.

I’ve met representatives of the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology several times, and I’m pleased that the board members seem genuinely interested in keeping California nail salons from getting fined during inspections. To that end,

I just received an e-mail with the following message and wanted to share it with you all immediately. The California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (Cal-BBC) has posted a warning on their website, of a scam

I just found a professionally-done video by the Washington Department of Licensing of a nail salon inspection. You can watch the six-minute video here. The video is geared toward consumers (advising them of what to look for

In an effort to increase voter registration in the African-American community, the Obama campaign launched the National Barbershop and Beauty Salon Voter Registration Campaign last weekend at the Bronner Bros. International Hair Show in Atlanta. According

An article in the Los Angeles Times caught my eye recently. It was about the proliferation of foot massage parlors in ethnically Chinese neighborhoods in L.A. over the past three years. Explains writer David Pierson, the

California’s Welcome To Our World (W.O.W.) lobbying event in Sacramento, held on April 21, is now a much anticipated annual tradition for California legislators and regulators. Hosted on the south steps of the State Capitol building,

I just wrote an article about salon safety for our upcoming August issue. While researching it, I found some interesting things that didn’t make it into the print edition. The article focuses on the simple, first-step

I object, your honor. Oh, the glory of having a moment of limelight in the courtroom — and all the better if it's not from the defendant's chair. The California state Board of Barbering and Cosmetology

In a effort to ease a $15.2 billion budget shortfall in California’s general fund, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed borrowing from several of the state’s “special funds,” including $10 million from industry fees earmarked to inspect

I recently read an article in The Sacramento Bee about 17 Sacramento beauty and nail salons being cited by The Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement for illegally classifying their workers as independent contractors. This topic is one I

Love ’em or hate ’em, your state board has a huge influence on how you conduct business day-to-day in your salon. At least in California, I’ve been happy to see board members make themselves accessible to